Police: 6 from Bedouin village held after cars torched in nearby Jewish communities

Six suspects were detained in a large-scale police raid of Tarabin al-Sana on Saturday after two people from the southern Bedouin village allegedly vandalized dozens of cars in neighboring Jewish communities overnight, police said.

Later Saturday, police said that three of those arrested were suspected of being directly involved in the overnight attacks. At least one suspect in the attacks is believed to still be at large, police said.

The other three detainees in Tarabin al-Sana were nabbed on suspicion of disturbing public order, involvement in violent activities, and using stolen army weapons, police said. Large forces were continuing to encircle the locale and raid criminal targets in the area, police said Saturday evening.

A policeman was lightly wounded in the raid and was treated on the spot, police said.

Police claimed the overnight vandalism in the Jewish communities was a “revenge operation” for a law enforcement operation carried out in Tarabin al-Sana Friday night as part of the New Order operation that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced last month.

Earlier Saturday, residents of Jewish-majority communities Giv’ot Bar and Mishmar Hanegev reported waking up to the sound of explosions and shouts in Arabic, according to Hebrew media.

Local outlets said vandals used wire-cutter to breach the fence of Giv’ot Bar, and proceeded to set cars alight.

Security camera footage from Giv’ot Bar showed a pair of masked people setting fire to the road and to two parked cars, and photographs from Mishmar Hanegev showed at least two cars with smashed windows.

“They carried out a pogrom… there’s no other word to describe what went on here. There’s no governance, we’re abandoned,” said a resident of one of the communities, according to Channel 12. “Next time they’ll slaughter us.”

The New Order operation that is being spearheaded by Ben Gvir and police chief Danny Levy in the south aims to stem the unprecedented crime wave in the Arab community.

The operation has frustrated many Bedouin residents and local politicians, who say that police are going over their heads in the fight against crime and conducting indiscriminate, aggressive raids as violent crime continues to claim lives in their locales.

Police claim the operation has led to a 93 percent decrease in shooting incidents among Negev Bedouin.

Over the course of the operation, police have arrested more than 300 people for questioning and deported hundreds of Palestinians residing illegally in Israel.

Officers have also seized at least 70 stolen military weapons, an RPG rocket and over 50,000 ammunition rounds, according to police. The operation has led to at least 67 indictments for weapons- and violence-related offenses, according to law enforcement.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.